Ole Miss may be headed for a different kind of showdown with LSU this offseason, and it has nothing to do with what happens between the lines.
According to the Clarion Ledger, the Rebels and athletic director Keith Carter are weighing legal action against LSU over unpaid buyouts tied to two former Ole Miss players, Princewill Umanmielen and Devin Harper. Both players left Oxford for Baton Rouge after following former Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin to LSU this offseason.
It’s still not clear whether any lawsuit would target LSU’s football program or the players themselves. On3’s Pete Nakos reported that a filing could come “within the next two weeks.”
The money at the center of it is not small. On3 previously reported the combined buyouts could total around $1 million, with Umanmielen’s estimated at $590,000 and Harper’s at $407,000.
Umanmielen, a defensive end, is expected to be a key part of LSU’s defense next season after putting together a career year at Ole Miss in 2025. He finished with 45 total tackles, nine sacks and an interception, and he was one of the more sought-after names in the transfer portal before deciding to stay with Kiffin and move to LSU.
Harper’s situation is different, but his contract still says plenty about how Ole Miss viewed him. The offensive lineman played in six games as a true freshman last season, and the Rebels clearly saw him as a future building block in Oxford.
Because he came to Ole Miss during Kiffin’s tenure, his exit was not exactly a shock.
Some fans may see a potential lawsuit as Ole Miss trying to get back at Kiffin after his messy departure. But whatever the personal angle may be, the Rebels have a claim to money they believe they’re owed.
And while $1 million may not sound like much for a program like Ole Miss, it could still matter. That money could help with current NIL deals for some of the team’s top players, and it could also be part of the resources Pete Golding and his staff use when they start piecing together the 2027 roster next offseason.
A courtroom win would not just settle a financial dispute. For Ole Miss, it could end up helping in the only place that really counts: on the field.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Just Added A Messy New Twist To LSU Rivalry Week
Ole Miss has found itself in the middle of an unusual post-portal dispute as it tries to sort out buyout money tied to new revenue-sharing contracts. The school says former players who signed those deals before leaving for the transfer portal owe payments, and athletic director Keith Carter has made clear the Rebels are looking at every avenue to collect what they believe is due.
The wrinkle for rivalry week is that the issue could spill beyond the usual recruiting and roster chatter, with Carter noting court action is one possible path and even suggesting LSU could end up involved on the payment side. The enforcement of these contracts is still unsettled, which leaves Ole Miss navigating a new kind of offseason headache while the broader college sports world watches to see how seriously these agreements will hold up. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss May Have An SEC Mismatch Pete Golding Needed Most
Pete Goldings first Ole Miss team is taking shape in a way that should matter immediately in the SEC. After Lane Kiffin and several staff members departed for LSU, the Rebels have responded by reinforcing the defense through the transfer portal while keeping the offenses most important pieces in place, giving the new coach a roster that still looks capable of competing right away.
The biggest reason for optimism is the balance Ole Miss can bring back in 2026. Trinidad Chambliss remains the kind of dual-threat quarterback who can keep a defense honest, and Kewan Lacy returns after a record-setting season that gave the Rebels a true feature back. Add in the portal help on defense, and Golding may have inherited a lineup that gives him a real chance to avoid the kind of transition-year drop-off that usually follows a coaching change. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Might Have The SECs Most Overlooked Receiver Room
Ole Miss has spent enough time building around its passing game that the receiver room no longer looks like a side note, even if it still may be flying a little under the SEC radar. Deuce Alexander gives the Rebels a proven target, Caleb Cunningham brings the kind of upside that makes coaches dream on the future, and Caleb Odom adds a different body type and skill set that can stress defenses in the red zone and beyond. Layer in the transfer help, and the group starts to look less like a collection of names and more like a plan.
Darrell Gill Jr., Johntay Cook II and Horatio Fields give the Rebels even more ways to mix and match personnel, which is the real appeal here. This is the sort of room that can win with speed, size, route polish or sheer mismatch potential, and the question now is not whether Ole Miss has options, but which of them will emerge as the most reliable when the games start to matter. [Read more 🡒]